Lower Back Pain Exercises

For most people, their work requires them to sit in offices for long hours. This coupled with lack of physical activity is one of the main reasons behind lower back pain. Besides these lifestyle factors, some other causes of lower back pain are sprained ligaments, back injury, slipped disk, problem in joints, strain in muscles and pregnancy. Whatever might be the reason behind back pain, it can cause immense discomfort and can virtually make a person handicapped, if not treated in time.

The treatment for lower back pain relief involves giving the person non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, massages and exercises. Lower back pain exercises are mainly undertaken to strengthen the muscles of the stomach, legs and back. Certain stretching exercises are recommended too, so that the muscles and tissues remain flexible. Given below are some effective exercises for lower back pain relief.

Effective Lower Back Pain Exercises

Knee to Chest
Knee to chest exercise is very helpful in relieving the stress on your lower back. To perform this exercise for lower back pain, lie on your back on an exercise mat. Bend one of your knees and bring it closer to your chest. Next, extending and stretching your other leg on the floor, try to pull the knee towards your chest. You may support the knee with your hands. Hold in this position for fifteen seconds. Repeat the same exercise on the other leg as well. Do ten repetitions of this exercise on each leg.

Back Extension
Back extensions are very useful to strengthen the back muscles. To perform these stretches for lower back pain, lie down on your stomach, near the edge of the bed. Your position should be such that the upper body, just above the hips, should be hanging outside the bed, parallel to the floor. Now, keeping your hands crossed on the chest, bend the upper body to make your head touch the ground. Next, come back to your parallel position again. Repeat this lower back strengthening exercise twelve to fifteen times.

Squats
Squats aid in lower back pain relief by working on and strengthening the buttock muscles. To perform this lower back pain exercises at home, stand with your back against a wall. Your feet should be around twelve inches away from the wall. Next, let your back lean against the wall, without moving the feet. Slowly, bend your knees and bring your buttocks towards the ground, till your thighs become parallel to the ground, all the while leaning the back against the wall. Hold on in this squat position for about ten seconds and then come back to the original position. Do twelve to fifteen repetitions of this exercise.

Pelvic Tilts
Another low back pain exercise is pelvic tilts. To perform this exercise for strengthening lower back muscles, lie down on your back on an exercise mat and place the hands on your stomach. Now, squeeze your pelvic as well as abdominal muscles and press your upper body on the ground so that the curve of your back almost becomes straight. Repeat this back exercise twelve to fifteen times.

Cat Arch Stretch
To perform this exercise, come down on all fours i.e. your palms flat on the floor below your shoulders and your knees on the floor below your hips. Next, dropping your head down and stretching your hips, try to raise your back from the middle towards the ceiling. If you are doing this exercise right, your back will form a curve towards the ceiling. Remain in this position for fifteen seconds and then return to normal. Do twelve to fifteen repetitions of this exercise.

These are some of the lower back pain exercises which can be easily performed at home. These back exercises should always be preceded by some warm-up exercises like walking and running, to avoid aggravating back pain. One last tip on back pain relief before I sign off - devote half an hour every day to cardiovascular exercises, such as jogging, cycling, swimming and aerobics, as these exercises are very useful for the heart and muscles, thus ensuring speedy recovery.